Pope on missing Mexican students: "We know it was a murder"

Pope Francis has spoken of the ''dramatic reality'' of drug trafficking and offered his thoughts and closeness to the families of the missing Mexican students. Rough Cut (no reporter narration)

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ROUGH CUT - NO REPORTER NARRATION
Pope Francis expressed his closeness to the families of missing Mexican students on Wednesday (November 12) and spoke of the harsh realities of the criminal world caught up in drug trafficking in the region.
Forty-three trainee teachers were abducted by corrupt Mexican police in league with drug gang members, and are believed to have been massacred.
"I want somehow, to express my closeness to the Mexicans who are here and those back home, in this painful time following the legal disappearance, but we know it was a murder, of the students" Pope Francis, speaking in Spanish, told a packed St. Peter's square.
"The dramatic reality of all the crime that exists behind drug trafficking becomes evident" he said.
"I am close to you and to your families" Pope Francis said.
Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto has been grappling with the apparent massacre, details of which have still not emerged, and has triggered mass protests and overshadowed his efforts to focus public attention on economic reform.

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